HMCS Harry DeWolf diverts to Halifax due to failure en route to Arctic mission | Canadian

A diesel generator failure has forced HMCS Harry DeWolf to divert back to Halifax while en route to join a two-month, multinational mission to the Arctic.

The offshore patrol vessel, which was welcomed into active service last year, left Halifax on Aug. 15 to join the maritime task component of Operation Nanook.

According to a series of tweets from the Royal Canadian Navy, while en route to the mission, the vessel suffered a failure in one of its four main diesel generators two days later and was forced to return to Halifax.

The navy said the failure was an “isolated incident and did not affect any of the ship’s crew members or outside systems.”

“The ship will undergo an immediate assessment and repairs,” the Twitter thread said.

“There is no operational impact to the ongoing Operation NANOOK. The Canadian Maritime Task Group remains on station in the Canadian Arctic, conducting presence patrols and conducting community visits.”

HMCS Harry DeWolf was supposed to join Arctic patrol ship HMCS Margaret Brooke and HMCS Goose Bay, a Kingston-class coastal defence vessel.

Among other things, Operation Nanook calls for community relations in the Far North and for scientific trials and patrols along the Northwest Passage to promote Arctic security.

The voyage would have marked the second trip to the Arctic for HMCS Harry DeWolf, the first Arctic offshore patrol ship built at the Halifax Shipyard as part of Canada’s national shipbuilding strategy.

Lt. (Navy) Rudee Gaudet, public affairs officer for Maritime Forces Atlantic, said the ship will be assessed to determine the extent of the failure, and if they can repair it in time for the ship to rejoin the mission.

She said while there was an issue earlier this month with the ship’s fire suppression system, it has since been resolved and is unrelated to the generator failure.

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HMCS Glace Bay visits Kingston, Ont.

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